School Readiness Goals

Head Start defines school readiness as children possessing the skills, knowledge, and attitudes necessary for success in school and for later learning and life. The Head Start Approach to School Readiness means that children are ready for school, families are ready to support their children’s learning, and schools are ready for children. Center For Family Services' School Readiness Goals are developed in order to meet the Office of Head Start mandated school readiness goals, which are defined as “the expectations of children’s status and progress across domains of language and literacy development, cognition and general knowledge, approaches to learning, physical health and well-being and motor development, and social and emotional development that will improve readiness for kindergarten goals” and that “appropriately reflect the ages of children, birth to five, participating in the program”.

Head Start views school readiness as children possessing the skills, knowledge, and attitudes necessary for success in school and for later learning and life. For parents and families, school readiness means they are engaged in the long-term, lifelong success of their child. Head Start recognizes that parents are their children’s primary teachers and advocates. Programs are required to consult with parents in establishing school readiness goals. As Head Start programs and schools work together to promote school readiness and to engage families as their children make the transition to kindergarten, schools will be ready for children.

Center For Family Services SCHOOL READINESS PLAN AND GOALS

SOCIAL/EMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Children will recognize their own feelings and manage them appropriately.

Children will follow classroom rules, directions and routines.

Children will be able to adjust to new situations.

Children will exhibit appropriate emotional behaviors.

Children will demonstrate self awareness, direction and independence.

Children will establish positive relationship with peers and adults.

APPROACHES TO LEARNING

Children will increase their listening skills.

Children will display their creativity through art

Children will utilize dramatic roles to portray stories.

Children will make discoveries and initiate learning on their own.

Children will demonstrate attentiveness cooperating in various curiosities with persistence.

LANGUAGE AND LITERACY

Children will have knowledge of the alphabet.

Children will explore the world of reading.

Children will acquire new words to enhance their conversational vocabulary.

Children will understand following directions

Children will inquire as well as respond to questions.

Children will have an understanding of story composition (beginning, middle, end, cover, publisher, author, etc.)

Children will write letters and words.

DLL children will have opportunities to engage in English reading.

DLL children will have opportunities to express themselves in English.

COGNITION AND GENERAL KNOWLEDGE

Children will demonstrate knowledge of numbers.

Children will have opportunities to utilize mathematical operations.

Children will have the knowledge of measurements, patterns, and comparison.

Children will use appropriate skills to solve problems.

Children will learn life science through living things.

Children will gain knowledge of physical science.

Children will learn about the different type of families and community workers.

Children will learn about the physical world and how we move about the world.

PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT AND HEALTH

Children will become self sufficient in their personal needs.

Children will learn about healthy foods and how they grow.

Children will demonstrate large motor skills.

Children will demonstrate fine motor skills.

How are we going to achieve these goals?

Partnerships with families and community.

Use a comprehensive evidence based curriculum ( Creative Curriculum Gold)

Implement Literacy focused program ( American Reading)

Increase exposure to books and increase small group and one on one reading with children (Born to Read)

Recruiting and retaining highly trained teachers and staff. Work with other staff to continue professional development.

Use a whole child approach that focuses on nutrition, health and classroom learning.

Provide comprehensive full day programming from 8:30am – to 3pm five days per week.

Increase availability of high quality ECE summer programming at Head Start.

Increase number of degree teachers and staff in the classrooms.

Reduce ratio amounts through dedicated volunteers to increase individualized attention for children in the classroom.

How are we going to know that children have accomplished these goals?

We will use The Teaching Strategies GOLD Assessment system which measures the knowledge, skills, and behaviors that are most predictive of school success. The tool has 38 objectives, including 2 objectives related to English language acquisition.

Teacher observations of each child will be conducted 3 times per year: the first will be completed by mid October to gain a baseline for the student; the second will be done mid-year (approximately February) to measure progress and identify any areas of need; and the third in May to assess progress throughout the school year.

Review the American Reading Company Literacy program outcomes to measure the number of books read at home with the child throughout the year.